Bounce Day: An Emergency Preparedness Drill

(ABC 6 News) -- A community-wide disaster simulation and resilience training took place in Rochester Sunday afternoon. It gave participants a chance to practice for real-life emergencies.

Over 300 doctors, communications coordinators, and high school students gathered at the Gamehaven Scout Reservation for a community-wide disaster simulation.

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“It was definitely more than what I thought but I can tell that was a positive thing because I have taken out how to correct somebody and how to incubate people and that’s stuff that I would’ve never been able to learn had I not come here," said Red Wing senior Abby Estabrooks.

A fake bus crash simulated a trauma event, but to up the stakes, actors played roles of patients infected with an unknown zombie virus.

Organizers said that element of the unknown is key in a training simulation like this one because it mimics the uncertainty that accompanies real-life emergencies.

The event is called bounce day and the message revolves around the idea that a community will always bounce back from a major disaster.

Although it was cut short because of the rain, organizers said the day was less about results and more about identifying the best ways to work together.